4.

Exactly thirty minutes had passed by the time Ethan had returned, with high hopes, to the antiques store. Not being able to see Bethany, Ethan decided to wander back inside, once again making his way over to that sword he had come across the first-time round. An older gentleman approached. He was wearing traditional Chinese clothing and head gear. His hair was and is long, straight, and grey as is his beard.

'Can I help you young man?' asked this gent.

'I am here to see Bethany.'

'Is she expecting you?'

'She is sir, yes; at least I hope she is.'

'Well, one can always hope, hope is good.'

'Yes, it is, I do agree with that.'

'I am so glad that you do.'

'This is no need to tease Grandfather' speaks an arriving Bethany.

Ethan had heard Bethany speak before noticing that she had come to the immediate vicinity from wherever she had been prior.

'I am not teasing young lady; I am simply making conversation' speaks the older man addressing his granddaughter before turning his attention back to the young man. 'You know that sword next to you was made over one hundred and fifty years ago by my great grandfather?'

'Yes, sir I do, I am aware of that.'

'Let's go Ethan.'

Bethany takes Ethan by the arm.

'Nice to meet you' speaks Ethan addressing the older man while not being sure as to if he should bow or make some other kind of gesture.

'And nice to meet you young man, just make sure you bring back my granddaughter in one piece.'

'I will sir.'

Ethan and Bethany exit the store and begin to walk together with Bethany still holding on to Ethan's arm.

'So where are you taking me?' she asks.

'Where would you like to go? ... Actually, don't answer that. I know where it is that we should go.'

'... So, are you gonna tell me where this somewhere is?'

'Patience my dear, patience.'

'My dear? You do know that we have only just met?'

'Of course.'

'It is just a coffee date, right? And you are not going to hurt me, or anything are you?'

'I think we can do a little better than just a coffee date and as for your second question, I could never do such a thing.'

'Good, for I want to trust you, Mister Ethan.'

'And you can Miss Bethany. Trust along with a little bit of patience and I am sure that we could possibly build a good friendship if you like.'

'Yes, I would like ... and if you do not mind and even though we have only just met, I have a favour I need to ask of you ...'

5.

Ethan continued to drive his Land Rover aimlessly still having no destination in mind.

'About three months ago, I first met Bethany in that antiques store in Downtown Chinatown.'

'I am aware of this but what happened three months ago is of no concern, it is where Bethany is right now that is of concern.'

'I will get to that but first I need to explain.'

At this point Ethan began to look for somewhere to park his vehicle. His companion Terrence suggested a place for Ethan to momentarily come to a halt. Thing was at this point, Ethan had something to say, something to tell. He had been holding it in though had found himself in a position when he could no longer be silent though he knows next to nothing about the man sitting next to him.

So how much information could Ethan divulge? Could he be truthful? One hundred percent truthful? Or would he need to be deceptive? Tell half-truths? But then again just how much did Ethan actually know? Ethan stood or rather sat in a difficult moment. Terrence could see that Ethan was somewhat conflicted.

'Right, get out' speaks Terrance.

'Excuse me?'

'Exit the vehicle; we are going for a walk.'

Ethan once more stared at his new acquaintance for a moment or two before indeed exiting the vehicle. Terrance exited too and looked to his left. When he looked back, he could see that Ethan had begun to walk off to the right.

'Yo Ethan, this way ...'

Ethan turned being almost in some sort of daze.

'Oh ... right.'

'You know Ethan; want can be a dangerous thing. The more you have the more you want and too much of a good thing really is not that at all.'

Ethan was not quite sure of what it was that Terrance was trying to tell him but decided to be silent and not to question that statement. The two men began to walk slowly together side by side. With a suggestive glance Terrence looked at Ethan though silence remained. Ethan returned a slightly confused look before realizing that Terrence was awaiting an explanation that Ethan had already promised to divulge.

6.

Ethan took Bethany to a two-story café bar, and they would be seated at a table on the upper level. They both ordered a snack platter and Ethan suggested a wine. It just so happened to be Karaoke night at the particular bar, though the entertainment had yet to begin. The wine and food however soon arrived.

'Looks like this could be a fun spot' says Bethany.

'It is, I don't have any sort of singing voice, but I am up for some fun if you are.'

Bethany giggled, looked Ethan in the eyes and began to tuck into her food.

'So, you had a favour to ask of me?'

'Yes, but that can wait. I think we can allow ourselves to enjoy this evening.'

That statement made Ethan smile and he too began to tuck into the food. The evening turned to night though it did not seem to pass all too quickly. There was plenty of wine, not that either over indulged and both Ethan and Bethany had indeed given the karaoke a go. Time came for Ethan to walk Bethany back home to downtown Chinatown.

'That was fun, thank you for inviting me out.'

'My pleasure Miss Bethany, thank you for accepting my invitation.'

'Now for this favour I must ask of you.'

'Sure, if I can help you in any way I will.'

'Great, that is really good to hear but just how far are you really willing to go to help someone you have only just met today?'

7.

'So, are you going to tell me what is on your mind?' asks Terrence.

'All in good time' responds Ethan while most definitely being distracted by his surroundings.

'You know I saved you back in your car park, I could just as easily turn things around and do what someone else had come to do.'

'I do not think that you will.'

'How sure are you about that?'

'Something about you tells me I can trust you, besides if you really wanted to then you would have already taken me out. There is a possibility that you may want to do that, but this is not why you have come, has it?'

Terrence at this point became somewhat distracted by his surroundings bringing this conversation more or less to an end. Even with their slow walking pace, the distance between them and the Land Rover had become quite substantial.

'We need to move now and quickly.'

Ethan was quick to panic with what Terrence had just said though Ethan was ready to move and move quickly without questioning Terrence. As the pace quickened Terrence would provide somewhat of an explanation as to why the pace needed to be quickened.

'If you thought what had happened earlier was something, well, you may be only minutes away from experiencing the full wrath of the Tiger Clan for all five of us are here, right now.'

'What? And what do you mean by us?'

'C'mon, move.'

Terrence began to run, and Ethan followed. When Ethan looked, he could see that someone was running after them. Is this person chasing them? To Ethan it definitely seemed like it. Someone else was moving quickly from the right, so Terrence turned left down an alleyway and Ethan done well to keep with him. They needed to hop a fence to keep on the move; Ethan was amazed with how easily he got over that fence. Fear and uncertainty really get the adrenaline going and can make a guy do some weird stuff.

Fairly soon Terrence and Ethan found themselves back-to-back in a wide-open space surrounded by four men all of whom held swords. Ethan turned his head sideways to look at Terrence and to Ethan's amazement, Terrence was and is also holding on to a sword. Where the hell did this sword come from? Ethan was sure that the sword that Terrence originally held was left behind in the Land Rover and unfortunately their predicament took them away from the Land Rover rather than back toward it.

'At the first available moment, go find yourself some cover. They won't hurt you, not straight away anyway' spoke Terrence.

Ethan did not argue with that, though he did fear the not straight away part of what Terrence had just said. A gap would soon open up and Ethan would indeed make a run for it, finding a spot to hide, a spot where he also see what was happening. The five swordsmen, with Terrence being one, all began to fight, and all would fight each other as individuals rather than there being a four on one confrontation.

The sound of swords clanging against each other was awesome and would have been an incredible thing to hear and the fight itself would have been an awesome thing to watch if it weren't for the fact that it was real and was indeed actually happening along with the fact of what it may mean for Ethan.

The fighting itself was incredible, as with the one in the underground car park the jumps were reaching unbelievable heights with ease along with the movement turning three hundred and sixty degrees in mid-air ... gravity defying.

How injuries were not occurring was beyond Ethan's thinking. The ability of all swordsmen was a heck of a display and with the fighting coming from all directions, the reactions in defence and offence were indeed amazing. The fighting was maybe about two minutes old when a shout out brought it to an end. The voice had called out in a language that Ethan did not recognize though the voice itself was one that he did recognise.

The voice that called out belonged to Bethany.

8.

The five men immediately stopped fighting upon hearing Bethany's voice for it was her or the search for her that brought them all to this point. Some of them believed that she was dead, and this is the revenge that is craved. It was believed that her life had ended due to her association with Ethan, and they wanted him to pay with his life.

The five swordsmen began to move towards Bethany with Terrence leading the way.

'Bethany, I knew it, I just knew you were alive.'

'Of course, I am alive Terrence and I trust your belief in this to make this moment happen.'

The old man from the antiques store just seemed to arrive out of nowhere and moved alongside Bethany.

'Finally, the Tiger Clan are once again reunited' he spoke.

'What the hell is going on here?' asked Terrance.

Ethan moved up and out of where he was hiding.

'Yeah, just what the hell is going on here?' asked Ethan. A favour may have had been asked of him though it had been something he had not quite understood.

'I am sorry I pulled you into this' spoke Bethany as she looked directly at Ethan. 'The Tiger Clan have been apart from one other for far too long, it is time this comes to an end.'

The old man turned and spoke to Ethan.

'What Bethany had asked of you I had asked of her. I saw an opportunity to bring to an end years of a growing separation in what remains of my family. I thank you for your assistance, and I will forever be in your debt'. Feeling a sense of accomplishment, this grey haired and grey bearded man turns to one side. 'My children, or rather my grandchildren please return with me.'

The five swordsmen gathered around the old man, and they began to move off together.

'So ... will there be a second date?' asked Bethany.

This question worried Ethan slightly, but there was no way he was going to turn such a beautiful lady down. A glutton for punishment he may just be for he would answer without hesitation.

'Hell yeah, there will be a second date, but only if we can leave any and all sword fighting out of the equation.'

Bethany giggled. Her grandfather returned. He had a presentation to make.

'This is for you, in honour of what you have done for this family.'

Ethan was presented with a sword, the very same sword from the antiques store, a sword with a tiger emblem on the casing.

'Guess you will need to take lessons' Bethany spoke in jest before she began to move off.

'Now just hold on there for a minute ...' speaks Ethan with a look of fear on his face.

***

I have a sneaky suspicion that the Tiger Clan may just have a new member, and this was the story I had to tell. As for whom I am? Well let's just say, I love it when things come together just the way one hoped, and that sword, it looks like it may be staying within the family ...